Eternity
by silver-nightstorm
Summary: Because somewhere, he could picture red hair and whiskey eyes and a little voice in his head whispering "eternity." Challenge-fic. HPFC-fic. Drabble-ish. For Project PULL Week 2 although it's not required of me . Oneshot.


For: The Potter Games Week 1, The Dr. Who Quote Competition, & The OTP Bootcamp (pairing Severus/Hermione)

Prompts: "Well I've been afraid of changing 'cause I build my life around you." – Steve Nicks, feather, watching the rain, whisper, ruin, "You're not gonna make the world any better by shouting at it.", eternity

**Eternity **

**By silver-nightstorm**

**Summary: **Because somewhere, he could picture red hair and whiskey eyes and a little voice in his head whispering "eternity."

It's those near death moments that get to you. Those moments when you think you're going to die, when you're _sure_ you're going to die, when there is no other way the world can go on _unless you die_. Those are the moments that really get to you. The ones that are vivid when they happen, but blurry and vague only seconds after. Those moments that change your life, when you cannot even remember why.

For Severus Snape, his moment came when he thought he was going to die. He knew he was going to die. In fact, if he survived, his entire plan would be in vain, so he _needed_ to die. But then he lived. He woke up, three days later, poison free, with only three thoughts in his head. The thought of red hair and whiskey eyes and a little voice in his head whispering "eternity."

XX

"Severus."

There was white.

"Severus."

There were feathers.

"Severus!"

A face. Red hair. Green eyes.

"Lily?"

"Severus!"

The face was closer. She was… more _alive_ than when he last saw her. Well, naturally. He last saw her when he was dead. So that meant…

"So that's it? I'm dead?"

She stopped, five feet away from him. He couldn't reach her. He couldn't touch her, embrace her. He missed her and…

"No, not yet. But you're close. You see, Severus, there are two things that can happen now."

He stepped closer to her but didn't move. "Lily, I… Why can't I?"

"Because you haven't chosen yet."

She smiled sadly. Her green eyes were always filled with happiness. He always remembered them happy, except for one time. The one time when he made his unforgivable mistake.

"Chosen? Chosen what? Chosen… to live or die? I have made that decision! I'm done. I choose death."

Her eyes were still sad.

"If you had really chosen, Severus, you wouldn't still be here. Someone in the living world still cares about you, and you need to choose if they would be worth living for."

He groaned then, guessing what was coming.

"Lily, if it's your son… I can't. I really can't. I don't mean anything against you…"

She interrupted him.

"Here it is. The moment that you need to decide."

Feathers flew around him and suddenly, he was in pain again. His neck was burning, a white hot flame that was spreading down his body like liquid fire. A voice was calling to him over the roaring noise in his ears.

"Professor, please, don't leave us. Please, you can't die. I don't know why I'm doing this, but … but you can't die, Professor. Please don't leave."

Bushy brown hair, an ivy covered wand. His eyes finally focused on the whiskey colored eyes. Granger's wand was waving over him as she muttered incantations between her pleading whispers.

"Miss. Granger, what…"

Her hair whipped him in the face as she abruptly faced him fully.

"Oh, Professor, thank goodness. Just hang on, I can save you, all right?"

"I'm a Death Eater, what're you doing?"

_What're _you_ doing? She's about to save you!_

A drop fell on his cheek. He hadn't realized it, but she was crying. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

"I don't know, Professor. This is going to ruin me, I just know it… but I can't let you die. Something in me _won't _let you die. I can't let you do this."

"_I can't let you do this."_

Suddenly, whiskey eyes turned green and bushy brown hair turned pin straight and fox red. "Lily… why? Why won't you let me be with you?"

She smiled sadly.

"It's not meant to be, Severus. You can choose that, but you still won't have it. Choose your happiness, Severus. Please. You can make this change, I promise you."

"I've… I've been afraid of changing, Lily. I can't change, I've build my life around you."

She was crying now, she shouldn't cry. This was a happy moment for him. Why was she crying?

"That life led you down a path of pain. I don't want you in pain anymore. Please, Severus. Live. Live on, with her. She can be everything that I never was. The eternity that you wanted with me isn't possible. But an eternity with her… that's what you need. That's what can heal you."

"I… I choose… I choose…"

XX

There was a figure by the window in his tiny little section of the Hospital Wing. The figure was petite, with bushy brown curls barely held back with some sort of tie. Rain was pattering on the roof. Little droplets were bouncing off the window sill and the girl was intently watching them.

"Miss. Granger…"

She spun around and practically sprinted to his bedside. "Professor! Professor, are you all right? Please tell me you're all right!"

He flinched, the loud volume of her voice jarring his ears.

"You're not going to make the world any better by shouting at it," he muttered, "but if it's really all that important to you, I suppose I'm as all right as I could possibly be." He resisted the urge to call her rude names.

"Why did you save me, you daft girl?"

It was a valiant effort.

In answer, she burst into tears and fell across him in an awkward embrace.

"I don't know," she wailed. "I really don't know. But… I felt that something wasn't finished, something was still missing. And I remembered you. And I didn't know about Lily or your promise or anything then but I just _knew_. Dumbledore's man through and through. _Always_. I knew that I had to save you, or I would regret it for the rest of my life. I just… I _knew_."

She was crushing him. Her weight, although it was very slight, was making it difficult for him to breathe in his current state but he, in an uncommonly kind gesture, let her be. Because somewhere, he could picture red hair and whiskey eyes and a little voice in his head whispering "eternity."

XX

This is rather random for me, but it's my first attempt at anything remotely Severus/Hermione (which is officially my new OTP). Hopefully, it isn't too terrible (or randomly ridiculous).


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